Turning it up a notch
Posted by Andrea Richards on Monday, April 19, 2010
Well, I'm down 18 pounds, and back in the Atkins routine. to keep the weight loss consistent I'm adding a couple of new things:
1. ) No Nutrasweet/Aspartame. there's been some studies done that show Aspartame hurts metabolism and actually makes insulin resistance worse. YIKES! So what did it for me? Donna Simpson, the New Jersey woman that is trying to gain another 300+ pounds to get to 1000 lbs . http://www.nynews/local/nj_woman_attempting_to_become_world_pco3O4qPWiCg3yjEWaxx9Npost.com/p/
If you look at the picture in the table full of junk food ,can you spot the diet soda? Seeing that made me commit to getting diet soda out of my life. The rule i've set for myself: no nutrasweet, no phosphoric acid:
http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/06/30/11-quick-facts-about-phosphoric-acid-yes-that-chemical-in-coca-cola/
and no more than 20mg sodium per serving.
I'm still drinking the few diet drinks out there that use splenda instead. Fortunately my favorite energy drink , Vixen
http://www.vixenenergy.com/, and a brand called Talking Rain http://www.talkingrain.com/ make some good ones. The Talking Rain drinks even include a little green tea and grapeseed extracts.
I know Splenda is not so great either - but baby steps,ok? I'd eventually like to wean myself off sweetners all together. I like unsweeteded iced tea - the trick is finding one on- the-go that tastes good. The only one I've found so far is a little brand called Tejava - it tastes like I just brewed it myself. http://www.tejava.com/
When I'm home I'm trying to get myself to drink more green tea ( mmm, lawn clippings) by combining it with fruit flavored herbal teas - actually turns out pretty tasty!
I also adore mint flavored water. Talking Rain's Spearmint Mojito is wonderful- I even use it on my strawberries. The combination of mint and strawberry is so yummy. Metromint http://www.metromint.com/ is a MUST when it's hot or when I'm sick, but I;'ll drink it any time i can get my hands on it! I love that little shiver I get when I drink it!
By the way, thse aren't paid advertisements or anything - I just really like this stuff. But if you represent any of these companies and want to send me a free case, go for it! LOL!
2.) Eating around 30g protein within 30 min of waking up to stimulate metabolism
Ugh. I don't like this at all yet. I usually don't eat breakfast until I've been at work a couple hours. My usual breakfast since this started is a warm cup of either chai or hot cocoa made with a scoop of protein powder, coconut oil (more on this later), a little whipping cream and coffee syrup to taste. It tastes really good, but my stomach is still adjusting to it.
3.) Drinking 128 oz of water a day. I feel like I'm either at the sink or running to the bathroom these days!
4.)Coconut oil. It seems absolutely insale to consume something that looks like a cross between candle wax and crisco and expect to lose weight- but apparently the type of fat that it contains stimulates the metabolism - it seems to be working. I've lost weight faster since I included it.
Epilogue to this experiment: lost another 5 lbs , then TOTAL STALL! Maybe it's the much lower fat content of the meat, or the work it takes to put it together 3 times a day 7 days a week but it was really difficult and increditbly frustrating that the time, expense ( OH BABY, WAS IT EXPENSIVE!) didn't translate into weight loss. Unless I've got a doctor's appointment, I'm going back to my diet drinks and sodas ( nutrasweet can raise blood pressure, so can caffeine) I'm also going back to conventional meats until I can pay off the really expensive repairs my bike will need.
However, I'm keeping the early breakfast. It really gives my morning ride a boost of energy, and I'm keeping the coconut oil. I'll try to keep the nutrasweet to a minimum if it's needed or really wanted - I really missed my diet peach Snapple!
I never missed my diet soda so much as I needed a little caffeine to keep working. If you tasted the coffee we have at work, you'd drink diet soda too! LOL
1. ) No Nutrasweet/Aspartame. there's been some studies done that show Aspartame hurts metabolism and actually makes insulin resistance worse. YIKES! So what did it for me? Donna Simpson, the New Jersey woman that is trying to gain another 300+ pounds to get to 1000 lbs . http://www.nynews/local/nj_woman_attempting_to_become_world_pco3O4qPWiCg3yjEWaxx9Npost.com/p/
If you look at the picture in the table full of junk food ,can you spot the diet soda? Seeing that made me commit to getting diet soda out of my life. The rule i've set for myself: no nutrasweet, no phosphoric acid:
http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/06/30/11-quick-facts-about-phosphoric-acid-yes-that-chemical-in-coca-cola/
and no more than 20mg sodium per serving.
I'm still drinking the few diet drinks out there that use splenda instead. Fortunately my favorite energy drink , Vixen
http://www.vixenenergy.com/, and a brand called Talking Rain http://www.talkingrain.com/ make some good ones. The Talking Rain drinks even include a little green tea and grapeseed extracts.
I know Splenda is not so great either - but baby steps,ok? I'd eventually like to wean myself off sweetners all together. I like unsweeteded iced tea - the trick is finding one on- the-go that tastes good. The only one I've found so far is a little brand called Tejava - it tastes like I just brewed it myself. http://www.tejava.com/
When I'm home I'm trying to get myself to drink more green tea ( mmm, lawn clippings) by combining it with fruit flavored herbal teas - actually turns out pretty tasty!
I also adore mint flavored water. Talking Rain's Spearmint Mojito is wonderful- I even use it on my strawberries. The combination of mint and strawberry is so yummy. Metromint http://www.metromint.com/ is a MUST when it's hot or when I'm sick, but I;'ll drink it any time i can get my hands on it! I love that little shiver I get when I drink it!
By the way, thse aren't paid advertisements or anything - I just really like this stuff. But if you represent any of these companies and want to send me a free case, go for it! LOL!
2.) Eating around 30g protein within 30 min of waking up to stimulate metabolism
Ugh. I don't like this at all yet. I usually don't eat breakfast until I've been at work a couple hours. My usual breakfast since this started is a warm cup of either chai or hot cocoa made with a scoop of protein powder, coconut oil (more on this later), a little whipping cream and coffee syrup to taste. It tastes really good, but my stomach is still adjusting to it.
3.) Drinking 128 oz of water a day. I feel like I'm either at the sink or running to the bathroom these days!
4.)Coconut oil. It seems absolutely insale to consume something that looks like a cross between candle wax and crisco and expect to lose weight- but apparently the type of fat that it contains stimulates the metabolism - it seems to be working. I've lost weight faster since I included it.
Epilogue to this experiment: lost another 5 lbs , then TOTAL STALL! Maybe it's the much lower fat content of the meat, or the work it takes to put it together 3 times a day 7 days a week but it was really difficult and increditbly frustrating that the time, expense ( OH BABY, WAS IT EXPENSIVE!) didn't translate into weight loss. Unless I've got a doctor's appointment, I'm going back to my diet drinks and sodas ( nutrasweet can raise blood pressure, so can caffeine) I'm also going back to conventional meats until I can pay off the really expensive repairs my bike will need.
However, I'm keeping the early breakfast. It really gives my morning ride a boost of energy, and I'm keeping the coconut oil. I'll try to keep the nutrasweet to a minimum if it's needed or really wanted - I really missed my diet peach Snapple!
I never missed my diet soda so much as I needed a little caffeine to keep working. If you tasted the coffee we have at work, you'd drink diet soda too! LOL